


Thunder On The Horizon

by ColdGoldLazarus



Series: Miraculous Tale Of Truth And Lies [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aurore is trying really hard, Canon has been taken out back and shot, Chat respects Ladybug's boudaries, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, F/F, Gen, IDENTITY SHENANIGANS, Kleptomaniac Marinette, Lila Rossi Redemption, Love Tesseract, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Is a Sweetheart, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a Bi Disaster, Mireille isn't happy, Nino Lahiffe Is So Done, Nino was Marinette's friend first, Rewrite, The Ladyblog, and 9001 percent gayer, everyone doesn't suck, it always starts with a lighthouse, lilanette is endgame, maybe a little too hard, no beta we die like fools, or in this case a weather villain, puns everywhere, they're still dumb teenagers though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-01-31 03:56:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21439828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColdGoldLazarus/pseuds/ColdGoldLazarus
Summary: Marinette's peaceful weekend is interrupted when a weather-based Akuma ruins the sunny skies. Even the combined team of Miraculous-users are in for a difficult time, with the storm in the girl's heart creating a hurricane for everyone else. But the situation is more complex than it seems, and they must figure out the truth of the matter fast - or else Paris may be blown off the map entirely.---(Or, An AU where Paris had five heroes from the start)
Relationships: Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Aurore Beauréal/Mireille Caquet, Nino Lahiffe & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Miraculous Tale Of Truth And Lies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558339
Kudos: 41





	1. To Play The Villain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nobody had time to talk about Mireille and Aurore anymore, not when there was Ladybug and Chat Noir and the other heroes to gush over, and the blonde was able to go to lunch in peace again.
> 
> But Mireille’s look of betrayal, and her continued silence, still burned in the back of her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this in one go in the space of about two hours with minimal editing afterward, so sorry if it sucks.

“The finalists have been selected!” The announcer Alec Cataldi was definitely playing this up, having already drawn out the reveal for the past five minutes; Aurore was somewhere between amused and irritated at how long this was taking. But anything for the ratings, right? Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she instead glanced over at Mireille, who gave her an exasperated grin in return. Aurore smiled back in response, and felt a calm come over her. With everyone who’d entered, she was amazed to have even gotten this far, but she’d made too many mistakes in the last round. She was okay with that, though; Mireille was going to be perfect.  
  
“Of the six remaining candidates to be Paris’s new weather girl, the two who came out on top, and now must compete with each other, are…” With an honest-to-god cheesy drumroll, Alec waved his hands and procured two slips of paper from his sleeve, “Aurore Beauréal, and Mireille Caquet!”  
  
Aurore’s blood ran cold.  
  
But even as she reeled in shock, some part of her had already begun speaking. “If you’ll excuse me, I have something to say.” She stated loudly, interrupting Alec’s congratulations mid-sentence. She dared not look in Mireille’s direction, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on the young man’s bald head, intent on stopping this right here and now. If she resigned, her friend would be uncontested…  
  
Yet despite her efforts, she still saw her friend on the television screens opposite their podiums, saw the brunette shaking her head. Aurore faltered, and winced internally at the hostile glares the studio crew were sending her way. No, if she tried to back out now, someone else would just take her place, and the show would go on with or without her. She had to find another solution, and maybe her outburst was just the right thing to use.  
  
Drawing up to her full height and puffing out her chest, Aurore Beauréal put on the most snobby, egotistical, and obnoxious voice she could muster, and took her future out back to shoot it like a rabid dog. “I just wanted you all to know that it’s _ me _ who will win, and become the new weather girl! Prepare yourselves, Paris, because you’ll be seeing a lot of my face from now on!”  
  


* * *

  
Well, she hadn’t been wrong, for better or worse. What was just another annual contest from one of the news stations nobody cared about, suddenly became a trending sensation. The executives were determined to wring out every bit of publicity they could from this, and the conflict between a shy sweetheart underdog and a talented but clearly full of herself beauty was just the ticket. Soon enough Mireille and Aurore’s faces were plastered on busses, on banners, and even on those little placards in the subway trains. The contest’s ending was delayed by a month, with further studio appearances set to add to this climactic duel.  
  
Aurore was torn between regret and bullish stubbornness, wishing this hadn’t gotten so out-of-hand so quickly, yet bound and determined to see it through. Mireille, though… Mireille kept a carefully neutral smile, then the moment the cameras stopped rolling, shot Aurore a searing glare before stalking out of the studio as quickly as she could. By the time the blonde was able to reach the doors, she had already vanished.  
  
To most people, they were just random girls, but to those who had seen them together beforehand, it was a different sort of story. Rumors of their falling-out swirled at school, with Mireille becoming elusive as a ghost, and ignoring Aurore altogether on the rare occasions she was able to corner her after class. Lunch period was the worst, though, testing her dedication to the act like nothing else. “Wow,” someone remarked in a fake whisper, “to think she was such a bitch this whole time!” Aurore stuck her nose up as brattily as she could in response, but she wanted nothing more than to hide in a corner. “Could you imagine stabbing your friend in the back like that?” Someone else chuckled.  
  
A few days later, Aurore began going home to eat. This would all be over soon, she told herself. Mireille would win, and soon enough the contest would be old news, and she could confess her true feelings, and they’d go back to being friends and everything would be fine. If she started to hate seeing her own reflection in the mirror, it was of little consequence.  
  
Thankfully, the drama was undercut soon enough by far bigger news. A giant rock monster, and two superheroes in red and black respectively, that stopped it. Only a day later, more and more of the monsters appeared, and those two were joined by three more, in yellow, green, and orange respectively. Nobody had time to talk about Mireille and Aurore anymore, not when there was Ladybug and Chat Noir and the other heroes to gush over, and the blonde was able to go to lunch in peace again.  
  
But Mireille’s look of betrayal, and her continued silence, still burned in the back of her mind.  
  
Then the day of the final announcement came, after another delay to let the fervor over superheroes die down, and with Aurore having spent every public event beforehand making as much of an ass of herself as possible, it was no contest at all. Mireille won by half a million votes, while Aurore had received only a handful. The brunette’s reward was an internship at a meteorological research center, and she would become the new face of the channel’s weather section until next year’s contest. Finally free, Aurore gave a small smile and a nod of acceptance, to everyone else’s surprise, and took her leave.   
  
So why was she still struggling to hold back tears?  
  


* * *

  
“Ah, conflicts of interest provide such delicious drama,” An iris opened, sunlight pouring into a dark room as thousands of milky-white butterflies fluttered up into the air, whispering to their master about a new troubled soul. “To advance in your career, or help your crush? Is it worth sacrificing your reputation so she can take your place? It’s not my role to judge, just to help you decide that for yourself.” So saying, he held out a hand, and one of the butterflies departed from the swarm to gently rest in his palm. Cupping his other hand over it, he focused all his power inward, and the insect’s wings turned dark like ink. “Go, my little Akuma, and reveal her dark heart!” The selected _ papillon _ took wing, flying out into the Parisian cityscape as the iris shut behind it again, leaving Hawkmoth in shadow.  
  


* * *

  
Aurore fell back against the mirrored walls of the elevator, slowly slumping down to the floor, clutching her parasol tight. Hot trails burnt their way down her cheeks, and her stomach roiled and churned like a tropical storm. Even after taking the win, Mireille hadn’t so much as looked her way, smiling gently toward the reporters, yet with a frigidness in her posture that Aurore had never thought her capable of.  
  
This was wrong, all wrong, and every doubt she’d suppressed, every biting whisper she’d overheard, came rushing back to her all at once. This stupid contest, her stupid act… She had hoped desperately Mireille would understand, but that hope was slipping away more and more… And not to mention her career. She’d done it now, hadn’t she? No matter how she presented herself now, there were five separate interviews, publicly televised for all to see, that would convince employers she wasn’t fit to be anywhere near a camera, let alone a doppler radar map. Regret filled her throat like bile, and uglier feelings followed. She had no right to be jealous now, yet despite herself a cold spike of envy stabbed into her heart.  
  
She was disgusting. Her dearest friendship and her career were both in shambles, and she had nobody to blame but herself.  
  
When she opened her eyes, she saw a butterfly drifting down toward her. How had it gotten in here? The sight was calming at first, a silly little smile breaking out at the innocent sight of a pretty little _ papillon _ in a place it shouldn’t be, a welcome distraction from her terrible thoughts…  
  
But that comfort suddenly became horror, as she remembered the panicked footage of dark specks turning screaming civilians into towering stone giants. Scrambling upright, she pressed her back against the doors, rapidly smashing the emergency button with her free hand. The doors didn’t budge, and the closer to her it got, the more the butterfly glowed a sickly ultraviolet. Aurore swiped desperately through the air with her parasol, making it flutter faster in response, yet it was otherwise unphased, simply landing on the next pass - and in an instant, the soft golden-yellow was consumed by writhing black and purple bubbles. In her final terrified seconds, she could only sob one word; “Mireille…”  
  


* * *

  
“Hello. You may not know me, but I am Hawkmoth, and I would like to help you. No, no, don’t make excuses, I know all about what happened. You created this result on purpose, didn’t you? Everything went according to plan, and you got the intended outcome, yet you’re still not satisfied. There’s a lesson in that, perhaps. To play the villain, no matter how noble your intentions may be, is a lonely task… I of all people should know, after all. But it’s not too late to fix things, to take back your true hearts’ desire. I can grant you this power, in exchange for one simple favor. Ladybug and Chat Noir will try to stop you, and it’s the perfect chance to take away their powers. A set of earrings, and a ring. Bring them to me, so that I may undo mistakes of my own. Yes, we’re really quite alike, you and I. Don't you agree?”  
  
“I do; we have ourselves a deal.” Tearstained eyes hardened, and the transformation began.  
  


* * *

  
Moments later, Aurore Beauréal was gone, and in her place stood Climatika. “Mireille…” she sighed softly, and a savage smile split across her face. “Best prepare yourself, for I hear thunder on the horizon, and your forecast isn’t looking so sunny...”


	2. Conflicts Of Interest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what are we doing again?”
> 
> “Watching Manon and hanging out?” Marinette asked uncertainly.
> 
> “Going to the park!” Manon declared cheerfully.
> 
> “Observing Agresticus Adrien in its natural habitat.” Alya smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Familiar territory, but with some slight twists. Things will diverge more soon enough.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng wasn’t sure how she’d gotten into this situation. Or rather, she knew the exact sequence of events that had led to this, but in hindsight it was all a tad ridiculous.  
  
Nadja Chamack, a friend of the family, was going to have a busy day at the TVi news station due to some sort of contest getting rescheduled, and couldn’t find a babysitter in time? No problem, Marinette could volunteer to watch her daughter. Sure, Nino would tell her she needed to learn to say no, but this was a voluntary thing, since she needed more money for fabric supplies and such anyway.  
  
The kid she was set to watch, Manon Chamack, turning out to be more of a handful than anticipated? Maybe she just needed to burn off some energy, and it was a nice and sunny day, so why not spend some time outside? Plus, her friend Alya had several siblings and was pretty good with kids as a result, so if it still wasn’t enough, she could ask her for advice. Why not invite Nino as well, turn it into a chance to hang out with her friends _ and _ attend to her responsibilities all at once? No problem! Then Alya had suggested they go to the _ Place des Vosges _ specifically, And that was probably where things started to go sideways.  
  
“Alright, here they are now!” Marinette proclaimed, and went from being pulled along by Manon to having to drag her charge the remaining distance along the sidewalk. “Don’t worry, they’re nice!”  
  
Alya reached them first, panting lightly as she slowed back down. Adjusting her round spectacles and shaking her mane of reddish-copper hair back into place, the Creole girl flashed Marinette a wide smile, before bending down to greet the suddenly-shy Manon. As always, she wore her favorite orange flannel shirt, today hanging open to show off a t-shirt with a large Wi-Fi symbol on the front. (Marinette had quickly learned not to question her new friend’s worship of the deities of modern technology.) “Well, who’s this?” Alya inquired with a friendly wink, encouraging the child to finally step back out into the open.  
  
Nino’s arrival was much more understated, simply sidling up to exchange a thumbs-up with Marinette. His red baseball cap was pulled low to shield his eyes from the bright sun, while heavy-duty headphones hung around his neck, a muffled beat still issuing from them until the boy was able to locate his phone to pause the music. Every time they met outside of school he seemed to have a new shirt relating to some increasingly niche artist, and today was no exception, with a cryptic eye symbol on a blue background, with “Cerulean” written below in tiny, pixelated text. Several dozen rubber bracelets loosely bounced up and down on his wrists with each movement, proving rather distracting; Marinette raised a confused eyebrow at this recent fashion statement he’d taken to, but he just shrugged casually. “So what are we doing again?”  
  
“Watching Manon and hanging out?” Marinette asked uncertainly.  
  
“Going to the park!” Manon declared cheerfully.  
  
“Observing _ Agresticus Adrien _in its natural habitat.” Alya smirked.  
  
“What?” Marinette felt her knees suddenly go weak; she’d known her friend’s insistence had been fishy, but this was still unexpected. “You traitor!”  
  
“I know,” Alya confirmed proudly, “Managed to get a scoop that he’s having a photoshoot at the park as we speak, so it’s the perfect chance to go say hi to him!”  
  
“But I’m not ready for this. What will I even say to him?” It was getting increasingly difficult to hold off panic, mind flashing to the past month’s worth of interactions awkwardly stymied by her shyness.  
  
“Probably something linguists would struggle to identify as French,” Alya teased, before shifting to a more comforting tone and patting her on the shoulder. “But no really, I’m sure you’ll figure something out. It’s not like we’re throwing you to the wolves all alone this time.” This time.  
  
Nino finally stopped facepalming to give the reporter a judgemental stare. “Not that I’m opposed to us all hanging out, but don’t you think there’s a better time for this? We don’t want to be harassing the poor dude while he’s busy. Plus, I don’t know about you but I don’t want to get on his dad’s bad side.”  
  
Seizing on that idea like a drowning woman, Marinette nodded hastily. “Exactly! It would be awful of us to get in the way of Adrien’s work, so we should probably go have fun somewhere _ else. _ ” Noticing Manon’s growing pout at being excluded, she quickly picked up the girl. “Besides, I’m _ supposed _ to be watching this one, not trying to talk to boys... No offense, Nino.”  
  
“None taken.”  
  
Alya seemed a little put-out at her evil scheme being foiled so easily, but she quickly recollected herself with a smile. “Well, the park’s a big place. We can still go have fun, then catch Adrien once the shoot’s all wrapped up!”  
  
As much as she hated to admit it, Marinette couldn’t argue with that logic. She still felt uneasy, sharing a skeptical glance with Nino, but reluctantly nodded agreement. “I guess that makes sense. Alright, let’s go!” Okay, maybe she wasn’t actually _ that _ opposed to the idea…  
  


* * *

  
As they approached the park, it became increasingly difficult not to notice the oversaturated amount of posters and banners posted on the streets, with TVi’s logo and two now-familiar faces displayed prominently on each. “Wait, that weather contest thing is still going on?” Marinette remarked, confused. “I thought it ended weeks ago.”  
  
“Maybe they just haven’t taken all this down yet?” Nino suggested, looking equally bewildered. “Or just forgot to, after all those Akuma attacks.”  
  
Alya and Manon fixed them both with unimpressed stares. “It got delayed, actually.” the reporter explained. “Hard to get people invested in who the next weather-girl will be when there are real-live superheroes showing up, so better to let that become old news first.” Marinette struggled to suppress a blush, and failed to notice Nino scratching his neck in embarrassment.  
  
“Though I don’t know why they’re bothering, it was never a big deal like this last year,” Nino diverted, gesturing broadly to a nearby shopfront; the electronics store had a big TV display, where select clips from one of the contestants’ interviews were being played.  
  
“Mommy said they spent lots of money on adverbs!” Manon piped up, “So they have to make sure everyone gives them poop about it!” Alya burst out laughing at Marinette’s scandalized expression.  
  
Manon, meanwhile, had already taken off for the display, peering in through the glass. “It’s today, it’s today! I have to vote for Mireille, she’s the bestest! Marinette, can I have your phone?”  
  
Sighing and making a mental note to talk to the kindergartener about bad words later, she fished her phone from her pocket and unlocked the screen, knowing it would be swiped anyway if she didn’t comply. “Sure, let me just pull up the site…” Shielding it from Alya to keep her friend from noticing the several Ladyblog tabs she had open, she followed her charge’s frighteningly detailed instructions to submit a vote toward the dark-haired contestant.  
  
“I actually voted too, earlier,” Alya admitted. “Kid’s got the right idea. I’ve heard some rumors at school; apparently that other girl Aurore was using her to get this far in the competition, before stabbing her in the back. From the sounds of things, she seems even worse than Chloé.”  
  
Nino snorted bitterly. “Dudette, Marinette and I have known Chloé for years. I highly doubt _ anyone _ can be worse than her.”  
  
“Hawkmoth,” Marinette idly interjected, still mostly focused on trying to navigate TVi’s poorly-built mobile website. “She’s awful, but he’s a literal villain.”  
  
“Hawkmoth is a coward,” Alya said dismissively, waving her hand. “Probably hiding away somewhere whenever he makes other people do his dirty work for him. Don’t you worry, I bet Ladybug and the others will sort him out soon enough!” An awkward silence descended upon the group, broken only when Marinette finally successfully voted, and Manon cheered loudly before charging down the sidewalk again.  
  
“Right now, let’s just worry about getting to the park in one piece!” Marinette suggested, before quickly chasing after her charge.  
  


* * *

  
Once they arrived, they split into two groups; Nino spotted someone selling balloons near the carousel and took Manon over to keep her busy, while Alya dragged Marinette in the other direction in search of their quarry. Not that they had to do much, as it wasn’t hard to locate Adrien in the slightest - with the amount of lighting equipment and backdrops the photographer had brought, one had to wonder why they bothered with the outdoor park at all, instead of a more controllable studio. That control extended to the treatment of Adrien, though in a more quirky manner; the photographer barking increasingly nonsensical and specific directives as the model struggled to interpret and comply. “Smile as though your mother has brought home the spaghetti! Yes! But now she has dropped it all over you! Now you must eat the spaghetti off the floor! What a terrible situation, yes!”  
  
For his part, aside from brief looks of incredulity at some of the photographer’s more openly deranged remarks, Adrien kept up well enough under the barrage; Marinette couldn’t imagine being able to stay that patient if she were up there. That wasn’t to say he didn’t seem impatient, though; whenever the photographer gave him more than a moments’ respite to change out a backdrop or adjust the shades, he kept looking down at his pocket and muttering under his breath; probably checking his phone or something.  
  
Instantly, Martinette began having second thoughts. He looked busy. They shouldn’t be a distraction. Maybe he had something else scheduled after this. He probably wouldn’t want to hang out with her anyway. She’d just make a fool of herself. They shouldn’t be here. She should just lea-  
  
“You okay, girl?” Alya asked, brow furrowed in concern.  
  
Marinette just grinned shakily. “Maybe we should come back later?” She was grateful for Alya’s interruption, cutting off her anxious downward spiral, but the worry remained. Frustration joined it; this was stupid, getting so worked up about just meeting someone in the park. Even if that someone was Adrien…  
  
“If you don’t feel up for talking to him, you don’t have to, alright? Let’s just hang out a while!” Her friend patted her shoulder comfortingly, then steered Marinette around toward the carousel. "We can see how you feel when he finishes up." That suggestion seemed reasonable enough, so Marinette nodded agreement and gratefully followed Alya back to track down Nino.  
  
After rescuing him from Manon, they spent some time entertaining the girl; a few games of tag among the trees, (that ended when a fleeing Marinette nearly trampled some tourist who had laid down for a nap in the shade) then a few spins on the carousel while Alya spun some yarn about a unicorn princess from planet Rispa, or something like that. Manon didn't seem impressed, and unfortunately, she seemed to be getting bored quickly; only slightly less than an hour after their arrival, she began asking when they could leave.  
  
"I suppose we should grab lunch soon, anyway," Marinette noted, glancing at the sun positioned directly overhead. Bending down to get Manon's attention, she added "Do you want to go back to the bakery, or go to eat somewhere else?"  
  
"Do we get cookies at your house?" Manon asked, arms crossed as she suspiciously stared down the teen.  
  
Marinette just grinned in response. "If you eat your lunch, you can have as many cookies as you can handle."  
  
"Deal," Manon agreed, maintaining her straight face for another moment before breaking out in giggles.  
  
"Well, before we go stuff our faces," Alya interjected, gesturing back across the park, "If you're up for it now, why don't we see if Adrien can join us?"  
  
Marinette breathed in, let it out, and nodded. She could do this now, right? He had to be nearly done by now, and there was nothing weird about just asking him to hang out with friends. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and everything was fine. She was fine. They began walking back toward the photoshoot…  
  
And that's when a bank of clouds suddenly rolled in, covering the sky in dark grey within a minute. The sounds of cheery park-goers faded away as everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the sky nervously, and was replaced with the low howl of wind as the trees began to blow southward. Moving to shelter Manon, the three teens exchanged worried glances; it didn't take the feeling in Marinette's gut (or the shaking in her purse) to realize this wasn't normal.  
  
She had to get away, as quick as possible. But she also needed to watch Manon and keep her safe, and not abandon her friends. Marinette Dupain-Cheng wasn’t sure how she’d gotten into this situation; or rather, she knew the exact sequence of events that had led to this, but in hindsight it was all a tad ridiculous.  
  
Thankfully, she was able to spot an out; a familiar blonde sprinting toward one of the gates out of the park. "Here, go ahead; I'll grab Adrien, and we can all wait for this to blow over together. Be right back!" Before Alya or Nino could object, she took off full-pelt after him, mentally preparing an apology later.  
  
Once she left the park's confines, Marinette began glancing about in search of a good hiding spot. There was a narrow alley across the road; ignoring the worrying way the wind pushed her across, she ducked into the relative safety of the dark passage, behind a rusting dumpster. She opened her purse, and a small black-and-red figure darted out to float in the air before her. “This wind isn’t natural, Tikki. I think it’s another Akuma.”  
  
“I couldn’t agree more,” the Kwami stated. “I can sense it, but it’s pretty far from here.”  
  
“Then we better get moving now,” A sense of resolve settled into her, and Ladybug knew exactly what to do. “Tikki, spots on!”


End file.
